Presented here are 130 refereed papers given at the 36th MATADOR Conference held at The University of Manchester in July 2010. The MATADOR series of conferences covers the topics of Manufacturing Automation and Systems Technology, Applications, Design, Organisation and Management, and Research.

On Silence Yourself, Savages' passion burned so brightly it seemed like it might consume itself before they could record a second album. Fortunately, Adore Life proves that the band not only has the endurance to return, but the finesse to come back better than ever. Jehnny Beth and company sound as bold as they did on their debut, but with a newfound precision that only makes their impact more powerful. Adore Life depicts love's most fearsome and joyous sides with a hunger that feels like these songs are really about devouring and being devoured. The churning opener "The Answer" boils relationships down to the plainest ultimatum possible: "If you don't love me/Don't love anybody."

Brooklyn singer, songwriter, and guitar slinger Steve Gunn makes his Matador debut with Eyes on the Lines, a windblown set of road explorations that, despite its meandering nature, is one of his most accessible records yet. The Pennsylvania native has maintained a prolific output over the previous decade, much of it in the form of one-off projects and collaborations, but his solo releases all seem to spring from the same well of wanderlust. Expanding on the spacious sound of his excellent 2014 LP, Way Out Weather, Eyes on the Lines is more of a free-flowing rock affair, finding Gunn and his band locking into bucolic grooves that take their time to unfurl.

Often described as the most promising cabaret artist of her generation, Canadian soprano Patricia O'Callaghan's back catalog is littered with cover versions of her homeland's most famous troubadour, Leonard Cohen, but named after the Toronto tavern he regularly used to frequent, Matador is the first time she's dedicated a whole album to his hugely influential body of work.

Guitar instrumentalist Marc Bonilla is to Robin Trower what Trower was to Jimi Hendrix, a slavish imitator who nevertheless goes off on tangents all his own. (Well, actually, some of Bonilla's tangents belong to Jeff Beck.)

"A Matador's Mistress" is a tragically eloquent dance of the cold brutality of uncommitted love and the high stakes of the Bullfight. Immerse yourself in the culture of Spain surrounding the age old traditions of the Matador. While the bullfight is controversial by today's standards, the ancient art-form is depicted with unflinching realism. The story is of man against beast, the bullfighter's zen, if you will; his nightly dance with death. A world-class lover enters his world; their code is their truth. Life being lived, edgy, relentlessly flirting with disaster, untamed, beautiful.

With rich vocals atop quiet looped waves of white noise, filtered synths and sparse thuds, Montreal songwriter Devon Welsh aka Majical Cloudz, is one of 2013's most unique and essential voices. His 2012 Turns Turns Turns EP, an audacious distillation of Welsh's ideas that brought his vocals to the fore. Citing Elliott Smith and Arthur Russell as the two biggest influences on his songwriting. Though they stand stylistically apart from other artists in their Montreal scene - which includes Grimes, Doldrums, Blue Hawaii, and others - Majical Cloudz are proud beneficiaries of it camaraderie.